The Phantom of the Palace
by nattyzeenha
Summary: Two centuries after the great war between the cardinal lords, Kagome is an inu youkai forced to abandon the Western Lands and Inu no Taisho's tyranny to live in the Southern palace as the ward of their lord. The secrets os the palace are right beyond the walls, though, calling for her soul and her beast when a taiyoukai who was thought dead decides to play with her mind. SESS x KAG
1. Chapter 1

_**Autor's note: **Sesshoumaru only appears in the second chapter, but it is, indeed, a story more about him and Kagome, and not so much about her and Kouga as this chapter might make you think. It is based on Phantom of the Opera, so you could have an idea._

* * *

**Kagome P.O.V.**

The Western lands had been my home – my safe haven from all harmful means of the world outside – for some decades before hell broke loose throughout Japan. No one can quite point out how it all started – but we all recognize the consequences and losses left behind the Mighty War.

The Southern and Northern lords were no more, and the Eastern one had already eloped the country when the going got tough. The Western lord, Inu no Taisho, was the only original Mighty left, for he was even then considered the strongest of all taiyoukai.

The winds shifted, though.

The cruelty of war seemed to break through the once fair ruler, leaving in its wake somewhat of a shade of what he had been. Cold and smitten, distant and fearful, he mourned the losses of his heir in the only way he could. Tyranny.

Sesshoumaru-sama, the prince, had died in the last years of war. Another mystery unsolved, left behind by the confused threads of combat; his body was never found, nor his murderer. So his father punished the whole world, transforming his peaceful kingdom in a land filled with fear, rage and regret.

I was still a puppy then.

I had barely reached six in development when things become too unbearable for my kin. My family had not connections nor resources and soon there wasn't much but despair left for us in the Western lands.

Eloping had been difficult, or so I heard, and ma and pa passed away even before we could settle into someplace safe. I don't remember any of it now, two centuries later, and I have come to the conclusion that if my subconscious chose to forget it, I too should let it go. And I did. After all, it doesn't matter how we came to be who we are, only that we are.

And that's who I am now. Kagome, ward of the Southern lord, dragon taiyoukai Takki. Time healed the wounds of my parents' deaths, and toughened my body and mind to become the best me I could. It is hard being one of the few dog demons amongst a kingdom ruled by a dragon and by its race alone populated, but I can find solace in the soft heart of my benefactors.

The childless lord and lady raised me to the stature of a princess, and just like one I have always been treated in the grounds and beyond.

I cannot begin to understand the nature of their care, or why would they protect me even back then, when I came to their grounds, a small 60 years old puppy, alone and unprotected. But I feel deeply grateful for the care and love they bestowed upon me and the few of my kind that later on were granted access to the lands for my benefit.

We are few and scattered, but we survived. And we were happy, bathing in peace and prosperity whilst the kingdom we were sired in falls even now deeper into self-destruction. The Western lands became a bubble, and no one could ever get in or out of it again. Or so it was said.

It pains me to know so. I was still a pup but I can and often remember the happy memories of my late home. The tough love of my father and the prosperous care of my mother. We were normal back then. Just three youkais, living under the rule of a fair leader, building up our place in the world.

Now I'm somewhat of a princess, and though not by blood or race, some responsibilities still come with it.

Now 250, it is time to fulfill the destiny my parents have been building for so long, and I cannot pretend to take lightly what is expected of me. But how could I possibly refuse to take the place I must when all I've known in this new life is happiness and warmness?

So I must. I was trained, educated and cared for, and as the lady and lord were never able to conceive an heir of their own, it is now my duty to take over the role.

I dread it. What will become of my will and my soul once I'm committed not only to myself and the people I've grown to love, but to the whole kingdom and its protection?

I endear my freedom, and as I see the necessity of disposing of it in front of me, it's like looking in death's eyes.

Such a dramatic puppy, ain't I?

I'll fight for it. To keep my freedom and heart even as I bend to the necessity, to not let myself become what Inu no Taisho did when the weight of his role broke his shoulders, nor what his mate became when she entered such miserable union.

I'll be myself. Only… Not anymore.

* * *

I look in the mirror and my reflection smiles back at me, brightly, warmly, hiding her own secrets as I take my time pinning my hair in place, leaving the waves of chocolate strands fall over my bare back.

I feel weird, out of place in this new kimono, buried under so many layers, but I must admit it makes a whole different vision out of me. I look… royal.

It's silly to think that I've lived here for nearly two hundred years and am yet to accept the fact that I am, indeed, royal at some point.

But thus far my life has been as anyone else's. No diplomacy, no concerns.

The person looking at me through the mirror, though. She IS a princess, and she's ready to take my place behind her mask in my introduction to the Southern society in a few minutes.

Gulping – so unladylike – I let out my last breath as Kagome for a few moments, letting my lessons and education take over when Akira, my companion servant, enters my chambers.

"Are you ready, Kagome-sama?" she gently asks, and I turn her way to let our eyes meet with a brief smile.

"Already putting the –sama thing on, Akari-chan? We don't have to work that stuff just yet." I laugh and she joins me for a moment before dressing her scowl on.

"You are a princess, at least for now. It would be improper, Kagome-sama."

"Hunf. As you wish. But I forbid you to call me that once this torment is done." I reply and this time we both laugh because of my childlike frown. But deep inside, we know it won't be done. We might have our friendly talks and our sisterly silence alone, but nothing will be the same from now on.

The first meeting was brief, and I'm both surprised and relieved. We sat in court, papa and I, whilst representatives of each and every family in the kingdom approached with their loyalty words and a gift.

The gift part was by far the most fun ot it! Who doesn't love presents, huh? And some of them were quite entertaining, to say the least.

At this very moment Tsutaki, one of my waiting guards, is carrying a wild chicken in his arms, trying not to look offended by his new burden. I, on the other hand, make no effort at all to stop the soft giggles at the sight before me.

And it's like that, laughing gracefully at one my most beloved friends and protectors, that I first see him.

Our eyes meet by coincidence. I was trying to avoid Tsutaki's burning gaze and he seemed to be looking for someone in the crowded room, but when his brow orbs lock in mine, silence becomes us.

It's not his dark, long and shiny hair, nor his gorgeous features that capture my attention. In fact, I have no idea what it is, after all, but it's there. In the air. In his eyes. In my breath. He's the only person in the whole room wearing informal clothes, and I bite back a smile, wishing I could be that care-free. His pelts are typical wolf clothing, and his posture is regal, while also feral in someway.

His lips slowly move, and I wish I could know what he said to himself, but my oversensitive ears cannot bare to focus on his voice between so many around us.

* * *

**Kouga P.O.V.**

This has to be the most boring thing in the whole world. Why must we pay respect to an heir who is not even a real dragon? The main meeting in the throne room is fast and I manage to skip it, but now we, the closest to the family – mainly the other taiyoukai and their families -, are all reunited in the counter-room, bowing and chatting and trading fake smiles.

Where's father? I should not be put through this purgatory, specially now that formality is done and I've showed up as honor demands.

I look around desperate to find my sire, but what I find instead is a slender figure over-dressed In what seems little a suffering of pounds and pounds of silk.

There's something there. Her eyes lock in mind and I breathe heavily. She's gorgeous. More than gorgeous, she smells… like something else. Different from this abominable dragons and definitely different from her race – for she is clearly a dog demon.

"Little puppy", I whisper when reality crashes. I recognize the deep blue eyes drawing me in, and though it takes sometime for realization to sink in, I cannot be more certain of who its owner is.

She was a little pup back then, when our paths crossed in the most unusual way.

* * *

I was passing by the Western lands in the middle of the war – not a wise move, but a necessary one – to deliver a message to an infiltrated ally in the name of my father, the current Eastern lord and, back then, the crown prince. I was too young, some might say, but there is no such thing as too young in a war. And my chances of sneaking in and out were greater than anyone else's, being as fast as I have always been. I was proud to be sent, and I would've been even prouder even when I returned if my grandfather were still alive to bestow my honor upon me.

Her scent reached me before her scream. I was driven to complete my mission and just leave, return to the glory of the Eastern lands, but something, her scared voice or the alluring smell of strawberries coming from where she must have been – or both - , had me running toward the clearing where I found the strangest thing.

There, in the middle of the blossoming flowers, stood a well. Not the most interesting sights, no, but the little creature half way inside it, was. Her small legs were in mid-air, and her torso painfully stuck inside the well.

I was fast to disentangle her wild hair from the bucket in which it had tangled and pull her out of the offending construction, and I couldn't keep myself from laughing out loud.

The little dog child was defeated by a damn bucket!

The sound of a muffled growl woke me out of my fun, though, and as I looked down to the child, the brightest eyes found mine.

She was cute, in a strange way, and I felt almost compelled to protect her from her own anger as she pouted, completely unaware of the danger I might be to her in the middle of a war, putting her hands in her waist in a way only a grown woman would do, but at the same time sticking out her tongue very childlikely.

"Stop laughing!" her tiny voice was trembling, and soon anger became something else and the bipolar child started whimpering.

_Shit. What the hell?_ I quickly kneeled and cleared my voice before trying to calm her down. If the child was of some importance, someone might show up and ruin everything.

"Shhh, shhh, pup." I tried again and again to silence her, to no avail. I wasn't about to hurt a child. Suddenly, though, she stopped and turned her whole body toward something in the middle of the tall grass.

A warm smile reached her eyes and the ignored me still kneeled right beside her, reaching out for the rabbit that had caught her attention.

It was all forgotten. She didn't seem to even remember the accident and just stayed there, petting the smelly animal. How she could stand so close to it and not be averted by its dirty scent I could not muse, but she seemed genuinely entranced in her antics, so I decided to take my leave.

The little pup did not need me anymore, and maybe never did. It was completely imprudent to help her. It might have been a trap!

But then, she turned back to me and offered the horrible animal in her tiny fingers, smiling beautifully.

"Wolfie, wolfie do you wanna pet it? I think it likes you. You have shiny hair, like him! But you hair is longer. Why is your hair so long? Doesn't your ma cut it? Mama never lets papa hair gets so long, she says it gets harder to di-ti-tangle."

Once she started talking, she didn't stop. And I didn't mind, for something inside me had shifted. I was smitten.

* * *

She's no longer a child, and I'm no longer a boy. But it's her, nonetheless. Throughout my journeys I never met such eyes again. It's as if the Kami painted them themselves, knowing that it would make it impossible for anyone on this earth to ever forget such fire, such innocence and warmth behind those two orbs.

Though the innocent part was still there, her new posture and body changed my view over it. It was not a child unexperienced innocence, it was a gentle, grown up and well aware of the evils of the world innocence. As if she could see through all the crap most of these people are thinking or even talking about.

I moved closer, encouraged by the connection between our looks. Maybe she remembered me too, though I doubt it. She was only a child back then, almost two centuries have passed and I have no trace as remarkable as her eyes to perhaps press into her memory.

A step closer.

_What is she doing here? The Western lands are all locked up. _

Two steps closer.

_What is she thinking? _

Three steps closer.

_Her clothes. They match the Southern Lady's. Who, is by the way, approaching us. _

Four steps closer and the lady has reached her before me. I bow, finally close enough to be noticed, and the older woman smiles politely at me before putting her hand on the youngster's shoulders.

"Kagome, darling, you might wanna change your clothes now. We are all heading to the gardens for a spar. Your father cannot contain himself around so many men. "

_What the hell? WHAT THE HELL_. She's the girl father came to gift? She is the freaking heir? How can that… Makes no sense. Perhaps I'm wrong. I must be wrong.

But then, she laughs at the older woman's word. And there it is. That voice, though graver now, holding the same promise of happiness and sweetness.

Her mother finally takes notice of my presence, and moves her hand slightly in my direction, pushing her daughter and herself the last few steps between us.

"Oh, what a pleasure to see you, prince Kouga. I didn't see you at the ceremony, thought you might have gone to take care of something, or so your father said. Kagome, this is Kouga, the Eastern prince." When the woman finished, Kagome, the girl whose eyes I couldn't forget, bowed lightly, letting her eyelids shut as a deep blush spread throughout her round cheeks.

"It is a pleasure. Happy that at least one of us could avoid that suffering of a ceremony." Her honesty surprised me, but she soon seemed to realize what she had suggested and her eyes bulged adorably, her hand reaching for her mouth.

"Oh, I didn't mean that… It's just that… Oh, ma, I'm sorry." She whispered, looking at her mother's eyes as if she expected for reprieve in there. There was none. Her mother laughed quietly, kissing the girl's head.

"Don't fret, child. Just don't let your father hear any of it. I suppose we could trust lord Kouga here to keep your little secret, can't we?" the Lady of the East commented, and I could hear in her tone something her daughter apparently couldn't, some hidden promise, like she knows something we don't.

"I won't breathe a word of it, my ladies. Though it is still as true as if it was said out loud." I reply to put the girl at ease, and she immediately relaxes.

"Finally someone who gets is. I don't know how they can stand sitting for so long! It's insufferable! It's not like any of them really cares for me being the heir whatsoever." she says, giving me a sincere smile and bowing for her retiring mother, who leaves us alone in the dissipating crowd.

"You are the real deal now, milady. It comes with certain… inconveniences." I comment, taking her hand with mine and kissing her knuckles. "Though I'd be happy to oblige to any of those inconveniences to bath in your beauty." _Where the hell did that come from?_

She turns a bright pink and I chuckle.

"I… Must change, now. Cannot possibly go to the gardens with double my weight in clothes. But… It was… Truly a pleasure, lord Kouga. I hope you stay during the rest of the festivities. It would be nice to have someone who is willing to oblige, for a change." Her voice carries a bit of sarcasm and… something else? Is she teasing me, the little thing? Oh, my princess, two can play that game.

My hand is still holding hers and I once again bring it to my lips, but this time I kiss her pulse, feeling the heat beneath her pale skin. She shivers and her heart beat increases under my mouth.

She leaves, and I let her go. For now, because I don't think I can ever take that silent vow to oblige to her back.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Kagome P.O.V._**

Though the celebrations promised unlimited boredom when I first faced the successive days it was consisted of, now somehow I find myself dreading our visitors upcoming departure, knowing that as the party is dissolved, Kouga-dono must part with his father. He's been the light of the eves, sporting the most agreeable behavior before all circumstances, always charmingly casual, yet dangerously regal. One must not forget one's place, and be fooled not by his gentle demeanor, for he still is of the highest rank - a crown prince of birth, right and soul.

I suppose so am I. A princess by right, at least, though it still feels wrong in more ways than one to be treated such as i have been for the past days. Kagome-sama, Kagome-hime, Kagome-dono. None of those feel like myself. But they become Kouga very well, I notice, as he bares the titles with the grace of a diplomat in public and the sarcasm of a wild young man in private.

And private we have been. Intimate in a way I had not experienced since my real parents and I fled from the West, while still maintaining the respectful nature of our acquaintance. Friendship, even, I daresay after so many of our little talks and walks by the castle grounds.

His light demeanor heightened my distaste toward half the other visitors, for who could ever bear their unpleasantries after knowing such an agreeable spirit as Kouga's? Not I, for sure, if had I been alone. But while his friendship unattended outshone the rest of the other acquaintances I could've made during these short days, it also made sure I dealt with them accordingly, as a princess should. Kouga-dono made introductions and gateways. Praises and jokes. And by his side, I found I could deal smoothly with the expectations I had earlier believed untenable.

Father seemed to approve of our friendship, withal he found necessary to deliver a rather embarrassing speech - or should I say inquisition? - regarding Kouga's intentions or the lack thereof. Kouga endured it all marvelously, paying father his deemed respect and - to my utter surprise, and if I must say, enjoyment - declaring to hold no shorter expectations than to court me, in due time. Father laughed it out to youth, and let us be for the time being, apparently satisfied with himself.

To say I was taken aback by said statement would be ill using of words. I had no idea how to deal with the fact that a male - a very handsome, charming one, at that - had just openly stated some sort of claim over me, and seemed to be overjoyed at my confusion.

"You know, you shouldn't have lied to father, Kouga-dono. Even if he didn't seem to take it very seriously, you'd better not promise anything you do not intend to do." I had stated, blushed deep into my core at his former words to the Southern lord.

"I do not claim what I do not intend to keep, Ka-go-me." he stressed out my name, his way of reminding me to drop the honorific - which, of course, I would very much love to do, had father not been nearby.

My blush deepened, if it was possible. He was reiterating his claim! How dared he…? Youkai claiming, courting and all relative subjects are touchy, at least. It is not only a matter of connections, in both our positions in youkai society, but also of nature. Both our beasts must be in unison, must recognize each other as their one and only home.

Could he be my home? Apparently he decided I could be his, as he leaves now with his father, dropping behind him the promise to call by in a fortnight.

As I watch them disappear utterly fast in the horizon, I finally drift into deep consideration of what his promises had meant and could mean, in the future. True, I am a mature youkai now, and I should be getting into heat soon enough. Father will press me to find a mate, and I have the feeling it would be more than convenient for the South if said mate was the Eastern's prince. He makes me comfortable, that's a taken, and yet he stirs not what I've read in the books and eavesdropped in the servant's quarters; no inner call from the beast I'm yet to truly meet, no lust, no passion. Interest, yes. Need?… I don't know.

The idea of mating him isn't offensive, nevertheless, and should I be honest to myself I'd realize I will not find more agreeable a partner in this sick, rotting world. He would make me happy, and we would make a good team. Good rulers.

Something inside me urges the thoughts away, and I let it. It's to soon to submerge in such fantasies, anyway, even if they are to come true. I cannot mate, or be courted, for that matter, having yet to experience my first heat.

Which reminds me of this most pressing subject. I am a full grown inuyoukai now, and I have no idea what to expect out of this, nor anyone to recur in my thirst for knowledge. It's me, myself and my beast alone, I suppose, and even that I cannot be sure of.

Most dragón youkai are early in their childhoods met by their inner base selves. I, on the other hand, could be well mistaken for a human, for I have never been touched by said instinctual being.

Perhaps I'm not really an inuyoukai. I could be a half breed and never know it. Super strong human-like half breeds are common, in these post-war times, and they too do not share their bodies and souls with beasts of any kind. Only full youkai do.

Still… I'm not sure I want to have an inu beast. It's taken so long to fit in. The last thing I need in another change to throw my well balance life in the winds.

* * *

My first month as a mature youkai - and a princess, at the same time - passed with little to no inconvenience at all, and I can now look back and congratulate myself over my performance as well as my control over my newly discovered powers.

I have always been strong, that's attested, but I must now watch over myself to not break handles or destroy mother's silver dishes as we dine. This rediscovered strength comes along with several other heightened skills, and each morn I find something new I had never known regarding my body. Or my aura.

It has been troubled lately, agitating within my body trying to break free, scaring away lower youkai and astonishing the greater ones. Father calls it The Awakening, and with knowing looks and sideway smiles refuses to enlighten me on how should I deal with these new… Everything! My aura's building, my mood's swinging, my body's warming.

I have never felt so alive.

* * *

My eyelids are glued to my cheeks. I cannot open my eyes, and the harder I try, deeper the hindrance installs in my weakened body. I try to recall where I am, try to avoid panicking, but my fears are only intensified by the long, wide vibration within my chest.

The tremor comes and goes for a few minutes before it becomes a constant shaking of my muscles, an earthquake between my bones.

I want to scream, but there is no sound. I smell blood, but I feel no pain.

And then there's nothing.

* * *

When I recover my senses, I'm on control of my body again. But I somehow feel the strings of something else attached to me, calling for my orders. Something I cannot reach yet, but can feel, nonetheless, stirring at my finger tips.

A low growl resounds all around me. I cannot quite point where it came from, for it seems to be all around and no where all the same.

I reach up for the stoned wall and stand up in the middle of the narrow corridor I do not recognize, and so attribute to the Western wing of the palace, to which I had never been granted access by the sentient aura of the castle before. Why did it let me in, now? And whose voice did I just hear…?

The answer comes as a roar, louder, making me tremble and lean against the damp wall behind me.

"WHO is there?" I call out, trying to compose enough conviction in my voice.

I expect another roar or growl, half convinced already that some wild animal found his way into the castle, when a guttural voice answers back my call, startling me.

"Let go, child!" the voice sounds angry, and I can't find it in myself to understand what it means. Is someone tricking me? Some servant getting his kicks out of scaring the mistress? And yet… this voice, and the feeling it brings down into my core… It reminds me…

"I won't ask again! Who is there? This is not funny!" I reply, taking a few steps back, though I have no idea which way to go to return to a safer part of the palace. I don't even remember coming here in the first place!

The creature luring in the darkness does not reply my demands, doing much more. I feel its formless power in my stomach, first, and then my chest, making its way from my chin to my ear, when it sounded like a soft whisper, both scary and soothing.

And then it hit me.

"Pa? Papa!" I let go, just as it has ordered me, and drop to my knees, wide-eyed and awed. I remember it. Vividly, as if it had happened ten years ago, and not two hundred.

* * *

I was a little pup, fearful of the world, and longing for its mysteries all the same, when father found me captured in a hunter's trap by the woods, alone and scared, shaken by my first experience in fighting the evils in the realm.

He tried to sooth me once we were both safe back home, but I was unconsolable, both physically hurt by the offending trap, and ashamed of having falling prey to it in the first place. It was designed to catch a rabbit, for Kami sake!

My ill temper was short-lived, because soon father took me in his lap and began to nuzzle my neck, urge me to calm down. His voice was all around me, but it was different. And it… it was not coming out of his mouth! As least it did not seem to, and my sadness soon gave birth to awe, as I watched my all-powerful father - in my eyes, at least - wrap his soul around mine and whisper words inside my head.

"This is our little secret. Just yours and mine." he told me when I inquired about how he could speak without the use of his voice, and from them on he used that silent language only I seemed to be able to understand every time he needed to convey some secret to me, or bring me to a sprightly mood.

It was our hidden language, our secret. Our safe haven.

* * *

**_Sesshoumaru P.O.V._**

I watch the spiders cluster round the unpolished wood pillars, endeavouring to avoid the claws of boredom, my senses of time passage long thrown out the locked windows. This might as well be a cell, as in the shadows of these rooms I find no solace in rational company of any kind - human or youkai. By me only inhabited, these chambers bolt the entrance of all but one. One most abhorred hanyou, whose graces I care not knowing and whose presence I withstand with uttermost annoyance, only because by his visits only can I grab some nourishment. Said visits are far and in between, leaving me permanently ill-tempered and famished.

Of course I could fight starvation longer then all humans - and most youkai - but to do so would require yielding power I care not to give in. I would die a powerful daiyoukai before surrendering to a powerless estate!

Powerless. The word itself ails me beyond recognition. Have I become powerless despite my greatest efforts? I could fight to further shield my pride from the unnerving truth, but it is as it always was, all the same. I am locked.

"Two hundred years…" my murmur soars to the sky, taking with it the anger I have not dared to feel for a while. For a long while. Anger has long become a luxury I can not afford. It sucks your energy, and drains your aura; two losses I am in no position to brace whilst locked in this cage of a life.

Am I alive, or undead?

Who can ever distinguish between the two circumstances, when baring a glimpse at my deplorable contingency?

Being the hanyou my lonesome source of information, I must trust his wisdom about the world beyond these stone walls, though trust is a rather forceful definition for my sheer lack of options.

According to his alleged knowledge acquired by extended research in my name, two hundred winters - give or take a dozen or two - have chastised the eastern land since I last saw my sire - whom, he ventured telling me after much intimidating, had declared me dead in a haste closely past my disappearance. Flooded by feelings I could not understand at the occasion, and still quell to decipher many winters later, it was rather easyt to accommodate the disappointment regarding my sire's lack of faith in my survival. Had he always thought me so weak as to fall prey to such dishonorable mistellings?

In the close, tainted ventilation of these chambers I am forced to acknowledge some measure of defeat, though, allowing the sharp claws of truth to do their bidding and dig further into my once solid, steady pride.

I am not dead. Only fools could suppose to kill me. But their following best option has left me bound to this castle, to this scornful land! The former lord is no more, but the curse he laid upon me remains as shackles gripping into my very core, locking many my youkai abilities away and, with it, my chances at freedom. Not much remains of who I was as a warrior but the true nature of my youkai base self, my inu instincts and gifts. Of that I still dispose, for the Kami saw fit to humor me in the least.

And said instincts hale me into consciousness with loud thuds behind my pointy ears, awakening me to a presence I fail to recognize, trespassing the barrier usually preventing anyone to approach my prision.

I immediately stand and haste toward the passage leading to the main hall, but find a harsh stop at some invisible barrier keeping me in. What? This is some unexpected turn of events, for never before has my free roaming of this quarter been suppressed! I demand explanations, and growl deep within my chest, knowing that none will be provided last I perceive it.

So perceive I shall!

Twice I slam against the deceitful barrier, willing it to break to my unspoken demands of freedom. Hell burn down this damnable contraption! This must be the working of whoever was allowed in my chambers. One being allowed in for itself is a worrisome contemplation, for only a most powerful being could break the castle's sentient obedience in letting no one near these quarters.

In the split of a second the realization of what's passing drowns on me: this must be the doing of the new lord! Only he could bend the spell, and therefore only he could venture through these prison corridors.

I undo my closed teeth and roar sourly, letting my voice swim, carried away by the soft breeze coming from the cracks on the back wall, in a frightening tone intended for my rival, the one whose life stands between my freedom and I. Just a little closer. Come to me, abominable dragon, and grant my long due release!

Steps are heard, and my senses converge and focus into the task ahead: identifying and destroying whoever approaches. That is... Until I feel the aura closing in.

If by itself it didn't convince me I had been wrong to associate it with a dragon, the scent that succeeded the struggling aura decided it for me.

A rich, long lasting smell of rain and rosemary, drifting around me, tempting my nose and my mind with stimulus I had long given up to feel again. It somehow smelled like the Western lands, and suddenly the possibility of being tricked overcame me.

* * *

**Author's note:** the chapter is too long already, so the last part of Sesshoumaru's point of view on what Kagome's already described will be resumed in the nex chapter. J Cya!


End file.
